Retro keys and simple, minimalist layers make up the aptly titled and uplifting new EP from PHASEDGE.
Melodies is everything its name implies, not merely loaded with melodies but inspiring as a backdrop to your day in crafting your own meandering melodies and considerations alongside it.
Credit opens things up, lays bare the style – four-to-the-floor organic keyboard work and a certain organic embrace interwoven with electronic warmth.
Rainfall follows and is an immediate highlight, a stylishly synth-kissed groove with contrasting melodies creating a sort of immersive ambiance of escapism that simultenatoulsy raises the pulse and calms the room. There’s also a clear potential for collaborative input here, additional melodies run through the mind, vocal rhythms and ideas, so the musician and producer invites participation and deeper connection in the process.
With New Rules there’s a little more complexity at play, a longer-form melodic thread that brings in rising anticipation and slowly but surely drives towards euphoric peaks that again provoke thought, particularly given the intrigue of the title. Something of a freestyle quality emanates, an artist lost in the moment, knowing the threads but playing freely regardless, as per the passion imparted.
Those earlier retro sci-fi qualities return to lead us into Starforge, unpredictable again but rooted amidst the familiar movement and tones of PHASEDGE. This one feels like a journey, a story being told, something worth hearing more than once to capture the mood and varying emotions. Perhaps a slow-burner but ultimately another favourite, not least of all for the contrast utilised in the stops and starts of the rhythm and switches from simplicity to fullness.
Bringing things to a finish is another track that cleverly manages to feel both familiar and fresh. The notes sound closer to bass, the layers multiply unexpectedly, the pace increases and the energy lifts you up in the process. The title gets you thinking, the music guides you along, and you’re prompted one last time to appreciate both the instrumental embrace of contemplation and the real-time musicianship at hand.
PHASEDGE keeps things authentic and natural, honest, and easy to enjoy, throughout this brand new collection of originals.
EP out February 2nd. Check out PHASEDGE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Instagram or his Website.
